![Florida quarterback Aaron Philo (12) throws with Florida quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. (9) during spring practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, March 12, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_2617,h_1472/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01kmws736kmnqewqn4y9.jpg "Florida quarterback Aaron Philo (12) throws with Florida quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. (9) during spring practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, March 12, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
The single biggest storyline for the Gators this spring is the QB battle between Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones. Jon Sumrall has tried to keep things close to the vest and keeps claiming that both are neck and neck, and most insider reports seem to back that up.
But in two weeks, the Gators aren’t going to be strictly behind closed doors, and one looming choice for Sumrall may indicate who truly has the edge heading into this summer.
Florida’s QB battle is still neck and neck
Florida held their first official scrimmage on Saturday. It was closed to the public, and so fans have been left to depend on insider reports to know what happened. David Waters of Gators Breakdown indicated on social media that neither Jones nor Philo stood out compared to the other and this is essentially what everyone other Gator insider indicated following the scrimmage.
So for the QB battle in the first scrimmage, I was personally told pretty even with no one standing out. Others have said/been told one or the other barely standing out over the other. As expected, still pretty even from that but have to wonder what Buster is looking for.
— David Waters - Gators Breakdown (@GatorDave_GB) March 28, 2026
Also……
There are two ways to look at this:
- The old adage is that if you have two QBs, then you really have none. We’re not going to go down that road just yet.
- Both QBs are talented, and it will just come down to who picks up Florida’s new offense better.
With the spring game looming, though, Sumrall is going to need to make a choice in terms of who holds the spring lead, even if it's for a brief moment. Unless Sumrall is going to do some super weird format, which he hasn’t indicated he plans on doing, someone between Philo and Jones is going to need to take the first snaps with the first team offense on April 11. Sumrall can obviously rotate throughout the game, but there is a subliminal message sent by who takes those first snaps.
If we had to predict based on reading the tea leaves, Florida probably brought Philo in with the underlying intention that he would win the job. He knows Buster Faulkner’s offense, and that alone is a massive advantage.
But Jones is by far the higher-profile prospect with far more tools to work with. We have to wonder as he learns the offense if the leg-up Philo has now is going to get erased, and Jones becomes too much to ignore.
We’ll get our first formal look on April 11 when Florida has its Orange and Blue game.